#Blogmas 3rd December 2017 – Telford European Christmas Market

Our 3rd of December was a day full of Christmas spirit and cheer down at Telfords European Christmas Market. Despite Gareth and I no longer being a couple we are still very much the best of friends and in fact we are planning a child free night of Christmas shopping and drinks down at the market ourselves!

Town Centre

All of the children had £20 each that they wanted to use to buy Christmas presents for each other ( this was completely their own idea, the money was their own that they had earned. They hadn’t been told that they had to spend it on each other. It was theirs to do with what they wished and they all asked to spend it on gifts which I thought was extremely thoughtful) So we had decided to take them to the local town centre to spend their money and whilst we were there we would visit the Christmas market. We had been there last year and whilst it isn’t on the scale of perhaps Birmingham or some of the other larger markets I really enjoyed it and the atmosphere. So off we headed.

It was lunchtime by the time we had rounded the troops and managed to get them all dressed, in the car, down the town and sorted. Not sure if any of you have ever tried getting a teen, preteen, an 8-year-old diva , a whirl wind toddler and a very spoilt 1-year-old ready for a trip out but that in itself can take a fair few hours. Anyway we finally made it to the town centre. Found a parking space and made our way into town. First stop was food. After checking out a couple of menus outside some of the many restaurants we decided the cheapest option would be good old McDonald’s ( Yes I know, disgraceful parenting filling them with all that processed rubbish blah blah IT’S CHRISTMAS! And I’m gonna be honest here, they are my kids and if I wanted to give them chocolate every single day for 756 years I would , I wont but only because I like their teeth too much!)

Gift Shopping

Then it was off to buy gifts. What this actually involved was Gareth and I standing around whilst Ellie changed her mind a million times on what she wanted to buy herself her friends, Annabelle copying everything Ellie did and Harry stressing about what he could get us whilst we were stood there. In the end Grandad stole Harry and took him to Superdrug whilst I distracted Ellie so that Gareth could pay for something I had spotted that she would love for Christmas ( sneaky huh!) We took a trip into a few more shops before ending up in good old poundworld, who doesn’t love a good pound shop! There I spotted some lovely little plaques which I am going to take down to my mums grave when I decorate it. One of my mums favourite times of year was Christmas. I think that is where I get it from so The older 2 and I are going to go down there and put a small Christmas tree and decorations down there and try to give it a little Christmas cheer.

Next it was time for the part I was most looking forward to CHURROS! I mean, the market, yes the market! OK I genuinely mean the churros. Last year when we went to the market we all tried churros for the very first time and they were delicious! I kid you not when I say the word churros is what got Ellie out of bed and dressed in quick time to get out the house in the first place. She even made sure she had enough of her money left over so that she could buy her own portion! ( The rest of us shared )

As we looked around the market there were plenty of stalls selling everything from wooden plaques to snow globes, candles to jewelery but one thing you couldn’t miss was all of the delicious smells coming from the different food stalls. From sweet doughnuts to beef burgers there really was something to suit everyone. One thing that caught my eye was something called ‘dirty fries’ they were french fries with their skins still on and you could have them topped with all sorts of things (I am determined to try some of those when I go back in the week) If you haven’t had chance to go down to the market yet then go and have a look. Like I said it isn’t massive and on the scale of the larger ones but it is perfect for our little town. The only thing I will say is the fun fair part was disappointing, there are literally 2 rides there it would be nice to see more.

Act of Kindness

Whilst we were in the market Gareth and Freddie vanished. We didn’t see them for quite a while. When they returned I asked Gareth where he had been and he explained that he and Freddie had been talking to one of the homeless men. He had asked the man how he had ended up in the situation he was in. The guy explained that he was in a long-term relationship when his partner had gone for an abortion without telling him. Once he found out she had kicked him out and he had been on the streets ever since. Gareth asked him if he had eaten and he replied that the lovely stall holders had been making sure that he had eaten. He explained that everyday he tried to raise £35 so that he could sleep in a b&b whilst it was cold and that he had been on the streets for around 2 years. Freddie handed him £5 towards his b&b for the night.

Mistletoe the elf

Mistletoe was his usual cheeky naughty self and decided it would be a fantastic idea to eat Bethie’s advent calendar the little monkey!!!! Who knows what else that mischievous elf has up his sleeve this December.

Whatever you are doing I hope it’s a happy and exciting time for you and your family